My latest crowd-funded documentary project "Israel for Canadians" is now live on Kickstarter.

Too many Canadians have somehow acquired a mistaken impression of Israel as a regional bully, a fortress under siege, an intolerant, chauvinistic or even theocratic culture, or a colourful museum. I want to dispel all such illusions, showcasing its technological achievements, its contemporary culture, its environmental movement, its vigorous debates on everything from religion to security, its very real security challenges and its inhabitants' abiding desire for peace.

If you value the only democracy in the Middle East, a dynamic, open society, an ally of the West, the home of one great world religion and the birthplace of another, please visit Kickstarter and make a pledge.

Because as the late George Jonas once put it, "Truth unasserted is a lie unopposed."

In my latest National Post column I say Israelis should be proud, and others impressed, that a bribery scandal proves no one in Israel including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is above the law, in stark contrast to its unhappy neighbours.

In my latest National Post column I say Donald Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel isn't just morally and historically right, it's common sense in terms of genuine negotiations.

“No one is better placed to resist pressure than the person who knows he can’t give in to it.”

Conor Cruise O’Brien The Siege

In my latest National Post column I say the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester should remind everyone, including progressives, that Islamist fanatics do not hate our open society for being repressive or for defending itself. They hate it because it is tolerant. They hate our permissiveness. They hate us for who we are not what we do. And there is nothing we can do to appease them that would not be a fundamental betrayal of ourselves and our ideals.

"What has happened, can happen." Aristotle, quoted by Conor Cruise O’Brien in The Siege (with specific reference to the Holocaust)

With the 100th anniversary of Canada's great victory at Vimy Ridge fast approaching, I'm delighted to announce that the book version of my documentary The Great War Remembered is now available for purchase.

The First World War was the defining event of the 20th century, shaping the modern world in ways we still feel very strongly today. Modern technology and logistics created unprecedented slaughter, and partly as a result the long, bitter, bloody conflict undermined faith in Western civilization. But it was a necessary war and the Allies did win it, with pivotal contributions from Canada, which "found itself" in the war and especially at Vimy, not just as a nation, but as a free nation determined to defend liberty under law.

It is appropriate that we remember the costs of the war and lament the loss and the missed opportunities. But we should also remember, and celebrate, the determined spirit that stood up to aggression on behalf of a way of life well worth defending even at this terrible cost.

Order your copy today and take a timely, fresh look at an often misunderstood conflict central to the modern world.

p.s. American and international shoppers should purchase directly through Amazon.

p.p.s. We also have the Kindle version available, here.

Two headlines side-by-side in my “NBC News Top Stories” feed yesterday: “Muslim Mob Attacks Christians, Parades Naked Elderly Woman”

“Transgender Pageant Unites Christians, Muslims, Jews”

One is in Israel. One is not. So where is the BDS movement on trendy campuses with respect to Egypt which, the first story gets around to mentioning casually at about paragraph 13, “Christian men cannot marry Muslim women in Egypt unless they convert to Islam first, but Muslim men can marry Christian women.”

Suppose Israel had a law where Christians couldn’t marry Jews without converting, or Muslims couldn’t? There’s be an outcry. But when it’s in a Muslim-majority Arab nation, the reaction is yeah yeah now back to how Israel oppresses whoever.

Now to be fair the activists do see a difference. They just see it backwards.